


Ambient Noise

by Cat_Moon



Category: Moonlight (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 09:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19423147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_Moon/pseuds/Cat_Moon
Summary: Harder to face than the lies we tell others, are the lies we tell ourselves.





	Ambient Noise

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in the early days of the series. Written in 2007, and posted originally on the ML forums.

The only sounds in the apartment for a long time were the sounds of eating; utensils scraping against plates, chewing, swallowing. The clock ticked softly in the background. The couple across the hall was having another one of their fights. Beth Turner barely registered her surroundings at all. Her thoughts were on a story she was doing on illegal dumping. She needed an angle to make it sensational enough for Buzz Wire.

Gradually she became aware of a new noise filtering in. It finally hit her that it was Josh’s voice.

“What did you say?” she asked, earning herself a disapproving look. “Sorry, my mind was on a story I’m working on.”

This time Josh's expression was doubtful, for some reason she couldn’t figure. What else would she be thinking about so intently?

“I said, I won’t be able to make dinner tomorrow night, I have a late meeting with the new ADA. She wants to go over my case files, get up to speed on our pendings.”

“ _She_ , huh? “ Beth teased. “Is she pretty?”

Josh broke into a grin and pointed a finger at her. “You’re jealous,” he accused, sounding happy about it.

Beth shook her head. “Don’t flat—“ Suddenly realizing what she was about to say, and when she’d said that very thing recently, she quickly revised her response. “Oh, don’t be silly, I trust you.”

_“You’re jealous,” Mick accused, smiling at her. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she finally responded, when her brain could focus on something else besides that smile. “Okay,” he replied, but it was clear he knew better._

“Sure,” Josh said, clearly not believing she wasn’t jealous but still grinning. “Don’t worry, Beth, you have nothing to be jealous about. She’s in a committed relationship with a nice guy.”

“Good for her,” Beth murmured, distracted again but for a different reason.

“Okay,” Josh said after a moment, rising from the table and beginning to clear it. “I’ll do the dishes; you go in and work on your story.”

“You sure?” she asked, already heading for the bedroom.

“Sure.” He said to the empty room.

XXX

Beth sat on the bed with her laptop in front of her, pretending to work. She’d been staring at the screen now for several minutes, but wasn’t seeing a word.

_You’re jealous._

After playing out that same scene with Josh tonight, it was hard to keep lying to herself. An eerie echo, almost the same but just wrong enough to be jarring. Right person, wrong person. Like when Josh said they made a good team – the same thing she’d told Mick. One, a pretty decent team, the other was – just – amazing. Or when Josh… kissed her bandaged arm, and she’d had to fight not to flinch away. Because in some crazy, impossible way she almost felt like he shouldn’t be touching it. As if it belonged to someone else.

_You’re jealous._

The same accusation from both men, but only one of them was right.

It wasn’t Josh.

It was supposed to be Josh. He was her boyfriend; they’d been together for a whole year. Yet the prospect of him working late with a good looking coworker had no affect whatsoever on her emotions. All she had to do was replay the painful scene when Mick had told her about his intense feelings for Coraline to see the glaring difference. She could tell herself it was because she trusted Josh, that she was secure enough not to be jealous. She could tell herself a lot of things. The question was: how much longer was she going to?

Josh came out of the bathroom, ready for bed. Beth scrubbed a hand over her face, and shut down the computer. He was a good man. A “real catch” as the saying went; good looking, prestigious career, decent and honest. She was lucky to have him.

“What the hell am I doing?” she murmured to herself.

“Huh?”

Beth gave him a fleeting smile, and started turning down the blankets . “Nothing, just working out that story.”

Lying to yourself, that was your own business. Lying to someone else was a whole other story. Soon. Soon now, she was going to have to have a talk with Josh.

**The end**

11/12/07


End file.
